McLaren W1 is coming in a batch of 399, but you can’t buy it

McLaren has properly revealed its next hypercar flagship, the W1. It takes advantage of a hybrid powertrain to reach 200 km/h (124 mph) in 5.8 seconds, the fastest of any street-legal McLaren ever. A total of 399 units will be made and sold starting from $2,100,000, but the company says it already has enough advance payments for the entire batch.

The powertrain the E1 uses revolves around a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 rated at 929 PS (916 hp / 683 kW). The mill can rev up to 9,200 RPM and is advertised by the company as “brand new” with a “record-breaking power-to-weight ratio.”

The electric aspect is inspired by the technologies actively used in IndyCar and Formula 1 race cars. The UK-based automaker claims it managed to develop an electric system even more powerful and lighter than that of the P1, but had to ditch all-wheel drive to keep the balance optimal.

This means that the W1 is a RWD hypercar. Its battery is extremely small and doesn’t hold more than 1.384 kilowatt-hours of energy, but owners can still choose to go all-electric for around 2.6 km (1.6 miles). The electric motor is also solely responsible for reversing, but the power steering and brakes on board are hydraulic instead of electric.

Armed with a combined 1,275 PS (1,258 hp / 938 kW) and 1,340 Nm (988 lb-ft) of torque, the car hits 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.7 seconds and doesn’t max out until 350 km/h (217 mph). It helps that it weighs only 1.4 metric tons, which is a touch under 3,100 lbs.

The W1 completes a quarter-mile run in under 10 seconds and reaches 300 km/h (186 mph) in 12.8 seconds. On the Nardò Ring in Italy, it beat the time of McLaren Senna, a dedicated race car with no road license, by three seconds.

Contributing to these impressive results is a sophisticated active aero kit comprising a front splitter, fender extensions and a rear wing doubling as an air brake. In track mode, the wing extends backwards by 300 mm (11.7 inches), efficiently expanding the downforce field generated by the diffuser. The undercarriage is shaped to maximize ground effect, and while the front axle gets up to 350 kg (771 lbs) of downforce, the rear axle gets up to 650 kg (1,433 lbs). McLaren points out that many of the engineering solutions implemented in the W1 have found use in the company’s race cars.